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Friday, October 10, 2014

Memories of Charlton

By
Brian K. Morris

One
of the reasons Charlton Comics were so precious to many fans were that like
gold, the books were hard to come by. The company had their own distribution
arm, but that limb didn't have much of a reach at times. However, in East
Central Illinois where I grew up in the Sixties, Charltons were often the only comics we could get. Apparently,
the local magazine distributor grew weary of paying those pesky Independent
News receipts every month. This meant that even given the less-than-perfect
magazine distribution before comic shops came into existence, it might be a
couple of months or even years between issues of some comics from DC or
Marvel.

On
the other hand, the Charltons showed up every week with the laser-precision of
a Swiss pocket watch. I'd much rather have read ActionComics or StrangeTales than Fightin' Air Force, mind you. However, enjoying comics
and wanting fresh material, I sampled the Charltons when nothing else arrived
on the spinner rack that week.

I
liked the short-lived strips like Mercury Man and all the "Space"
stories. However, like every right-thinking comics fan, I dug the later Action
Heroes like crazy and enjoyed the scary books too. Even Go-Go was fun, but my more
"manly" pals mocked me more than usual for reading a
"girls" funnybook.

I
recognized that the guy who wasn't doing The Amazing Spider-Man any more
was now worked at Charlton again on a new version of The Blue Beetle. This one
was a lot more fun than Dan Garrett, I had to admitStill, I waited for that familiar scarab to pop up.

I
really enjoyed Dick Giordano's editing as much as his artwork and I loved Jim
Aparo and Rocke Mastroserio's work, but it took me a while to appreciate that
"Nicholas Alascia" guy.

By
the late Sixties, the distributor finally caught up on his bills. DC and Marvel
titles began to push the Archies, Towers, and Charltons off the stands, so for
a couple of years, I concentrated on the Big Two as if to make up for lost
time. Every now and then, though, I'd notice Popeye, The Phantom, L. Dedd and
Dr. Graves silently pleading from the wire racks for my hard-earned change.

But
for the most part, I'd pushed the Charlton's off my "gotta have"
list.

Then
one day I noticed a new Charlton title, Primus, based on a then-current
TV show. Since I enjoyed the program, I optimistically thumbed through the
magazine, starting with the credits. I recalled Joe Gill's name from the Action
Hero days. However, a newcomer named Joe Staton was handling the artwork and it
was pretty darned good. I added the comic to my stack and re-read it a couple
dozen times over the next several days.

I
realized I missed those Charltons.

As
a result of enjoying Primus so much, I began purchasing Charltons again.
I knew that some of the glory days' talent had moved on to DC, but here was a
whole new set of creators to enjoy. Nicola Cuti, Paul Kupperberg, Sanho Kim,
John Byrne, Bob Layton, Don Newton, and Mike Zeck, as well as longtime veterans
like Tom Sutton, Wally Wood, and Jack Abel. Of course, Steve Ditko never went
away and was every bit as awesome as ever.

Soon,
my refreshed interest in Charlton inspired me to take up the pen and submit my
own writing. However, that's another
blog entry for another day.

They
were never as flashy as the product coming out of DC and Marvel, but I fell in
love with Charlton during that second buying period. Like another company I
admired, Tower Comics, the books had character and a unique marketplace
identity along with a great mix of new and upcoming talent.

Even
better, this time, my purchases came by choice, not from a lack of
alternatives. I could finally see the beauty in the work and solid craftsmanship
in the art and writing. Plus, it was fun to pick up the back issues and see who
went on the larger publishers.

Now
with new material coming out from The Charlton Arrow and the rest of the
Neo group of spin-offs, the magic begins again…this time minus the miserly
local distributor.